Sisi expresses thanks as King pledges SR30b aid

Saudi Gazette – Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi thanked the Kingdom for its valued support for Egypt and its people.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Tuesday pledged a total of SR30 billion ($8 billion) in investment and aid to Egypt over the next five years.

The King also declared that the Kingdom will provide Egypt with its petroleum needs. In addition, Saudi ships will “support” traffic in the Suez Canal.

The announcement followed a meeting between Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail in Cairo.

A follow-up meeting between Saudi and Egyptian officials will take place on Jan. 5, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad also met President El-Sisi. After the meeting El-Sisi stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between the two brotherly countries in all fields to achieve the common interests of the two peoples.

In a press statement, Egyptian presidential spokesman Ambassador Alaa Yousef said that the Deputy Crown Prince conveyed the greetings of King Salman to President El-Sisi, stressing the strength and durability of the strategic relations between the two countries.

The Deputy Crown Prince stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to deepen cooperation and continuous coordination between the two countries, particularly in light of the start of the second meeting of the joint Saudi-Egyptian Cooperation Council, which represents a framework for partnership between the two countries.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail described the second meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Coordination Council as friendly, during which a number of projects were agreed upon.

Minister of International Cooperation in Egypt Dr. Sahar Nasr said the discussions emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries.

She said that during the meeting a number of housing, tourism, petroleum and electricity projects were discussed.

In March, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates each offered $4 billion in investment and aid to Egypt.